There are few choices for students who wants to earn a law degree. One of these choices is to go to a law school in Canada.

Law schools are acknowledged as a graduate program in Canada. Hence, students will have to earn an undergraduate degree in any other subject areas, before applying to go to a law school.

Canada is home to some of the best law schools in the world. Canada’s law system is also one of the rarest law systems in the world, where the civil-law tradition co-exist together with the common-law tradition.

The province of Quebec practices the civil-law tradition, while the other provinces and territories in Canada practices the common-law tradition.

Students who wants to practice law in the country will first of all, have to graduate with a Juris Doctor (JD) degree in a Canadian law school after three years of full-time study, or a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree for students who wants to practice law in the province of Quebec.

Students applying to a LSAC-member Canadian law school are also required to sit the LSAT test in order to ensure that they have the logical and verbal reasoning needed to succeed in the program.

The following list are the best 10 law schools in Canada 2023 according to Times Higher Education.

10. University of Victoria

The UVic Faculty of Law has the highest number of clinical placements per student in Canada.

The school is known for its variety of clinical programs provided to students in order for them to gain some practical experience in the legal field, while studying law at the school.

The JD/JID joint degree program is a unique law program offered at the undergraduate level for students to earn a degree in JD (Common Law) and JID (Indigenous Legal Orders).

The JID, which stands for Juris Indigenarum Doctor is a distinctive program that covers the Indigenous laws and their rights.

The Master of Laws and PhD law degree programs are offered at the graduate-level. The programs gives students the opportunity to participate in advanced research in the legal field.

9. Queen’s University

One of Queen’s Law aims and objectives is to build a community of academic excellence that provides the best legal studies in Canada through it Strategic Framework.

The University’s Faculty of Law provides Juris Doctor (JD) degree program and six cross-disciplinary combined degrees— BCom/JD, JD/MBA &GDB, MA (Econ)/JD, JD/MPA, JD/MIR, and the Civil Law/Common Law program.

The Civil Law/Common Law program give admissions to students who graduated with a civil law degree from the University of Sherbrooke. The aim of the program is to merge their knowledge in civil law together with the common law practice.

The Master of Laws (LLM) and the PhD Law program are also available for graduate-level students.

8. University of Alberta

The Faculty of Law at UAlberta is one of the top-ranked law schools in Western Canada dedicated to legal studies and research.

Its Juris Doctor (JD) program prepares undergraduate students with fundamental studies in the legal field. A dual-degree program is also available with the Alberta School of Business for students who wants to expand their knowledge in the business field (MBA/JD).

The Master of Laws (LLM) gives students and lawyers the opportunity to participate in research for a year.

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is also available for students who have completed a graduate degree in law.

Scholarships and Awards are made available for students based on their outstanding grades and academic records.

7. University of Calgary

The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law is one of the dynamic and most innovative law schools in Canada.

The law school has placed research and innovation in legal studies as its core foundation, with its [Energy — Innovation — Impact] strategy, established to place the law school as one of the best in legal studies across the common law world.

The Juris Doctor (JD) program is available for undergraduate students, with three joint degree programs for students who wants to further enhance their legal studies. Two of these joint programs are with other faculties in UCalgary— Haskayne School of Business and UCalgary’s School of Public Policy, while the last one is with the University of Houston.

PhD in Law, and two Master of Laws (LLM) programs are also available for the graduate level students, one of which is thesis-based, and the other one is course-based.

A graduate certificate program is also available for lawyers who wants to increase or update their knowledge in environmental law, natural resources, and energy.

6. Dalhousie University

The Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University is one of the law schools focused in collaborative and interdisciplinary research with the aim of solving real-life issues in the area of law.

The law school offers a 3-year Juris Doctor (JD) program to undergraduate students, with a flexible course option, available in their second and third year.

Students can also choose to enhance their knowledge in the legal field by taking graduate programs such as the Master of Laws (LLM), and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.

The law school also have different awards and grants available for law students, one of which is the Schulich Scholarship.

5. University of Ottawa

University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law is a bilingual law school that is subdivided into three— the Faculty of Law (Common Law), Faculty of Law (Civil Law), and the Faculty of Law (Graduate Studies).

The first two offers a wide range of programs to undergraduate level students, which covers each individual faculty’s law system, while Faculty of Law (Graduate Studies) offers graduate students both common law and civil law programs at the master’s and doctoral level.

The unique JD National Program is also an 8 months duration program offered by the Faculty of Law (Common Law) to students who graduated with a civil law degree from any other Canadian university, in order to merge their knowledge in civil law together with the common law tradition.

4. University of Montreal

The Law Faculty at the University of Montreal requires undergraduate students to take 62 mandatory credits in order to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws.

A honors program is also available for the best students during their third year. This honors program allow students take a selective number of graduate-level courses, earning them a honors at the end of their program.

A wide range of Graduate level programs are also available, including Master of Laws (LLM), Juris Doctor (JD) in North American Law, Business Law in a Global Context (LLM), and other Specialized Graduate Diplomas (DESS) programs.

The law school is also bilingual, with the language of instruction being offered in both French and English.

3. University of British Columbia

The Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia comes third place on the list.

The law school offers a Juris Doctor (JD) degree for undergraduate level students, with several graduate programs, including Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Laws (Common Law), Master of Law in Taxation degree programs for graduate students.

The school also offers research-focused programs such as the Doctor of Philosophy in Law (PhD)— for graduate students who wants to further enrich their knowledge in the law field, and Indigenous Legal Studies— a program that places focus on the Indigenous people and issues.

The Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) is a student organization at Peter A. Allard Law School, where students are allowed to gain real-life experience by representing clients in court and offering free legal advice to individuals who can’t afford legal assistance.

The LSLAP program was established by the school to prepare law students for success in their career after graduation.

2. McGill University

McGill University’s Faculty of Law is one of the few law schools in Canada that offers both Juris Doctor (JD) degree and a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree in the undergraduate level.

Earning both degrees gives students the ability to practice both common law and civil law in Canada and the United States.

McGill also offers postgraduate programs, such as Master of Laws (LLM) and Doctor of Civil Law (DCL), with variety of options to choose from.

One of these options is the school’s unique Master in Air and Space Law (LLM): a thesis program that enables students take part in research and courses associated to the domain of air and space law.

Graduate Certificate programs in Comparative Law, and in Air and Space Law are also available at McGill.

1. University of Toronto

The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law comes first in the list of best law schools in Canada.

The school offers a Juris Doctor (JD) degree program for undergraduate level, and Master of Laws (LLM), Global Professional Master of Laws (GPLLM), Master of Studies in Law (MSL), and Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree programs for postgraduate students.

Legal research programs are also available for students who wants to enhance their knowledge in the legal field.

The school also has several research centers and institutes including the David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights— where Canada’s constitutional rights are been studied.

Full List of The Best Law Schools in Canada

Conclusion

Law degree programs technically starts at graduate level in Canada, because students are required to have a degree prior to applying to a law school.

Potential law students also need to be enlightened on the difference between common-law and civil-law in order to know which legal system they would like to study and practice after graduation.

This article has been composed to help student navigate through their options of selecting a law school in Canada. Students will also be advised to make further research by  contacting the student services of each schools.

Article Source: The Scholars Network